Al Sharpton , the civil-rights activist who has been at the center of every hot political contest in New York for years, will no longer be able to make political endorsements or campaign for candidates now that he's become the host of a nightly program on MSNBC.

Still, Mr. Sharpton, who founded the National Action Network, a civil-rights organization, said he's been trying over the years to devote most of his attention to national affairs because that has always been his dream.

But fans adored the corny jokes and groan-worthy gags, and the simple-minded shows endeared themselves to a nation beset by civil-rights struggles and a war in Vietnam, said a Washington Post obituary.

A federal judge temporarily stopped Alabama from enforcing a new law to tackle illegal immigration, saying that she required more time to consider lawsuits filed against it by the Obama administration and civil-rights groups.